John Kuntz / The Plain Dealer“We always knew he was a heck of a player,” Zydrunas Ilgauskas said of Boston's Rajon Rondo during Monday's practice. “We were so worried about the ‘big three’ that to some degree we underestimated him. That was our biggest mistake.”

CAVS' 3 POINTS FOR GAME 51. Limit Rondo fastbreaks. Cavs have done a fair job on him in the halfcourt, but not in transition.2. Get an MVP performance from LeBron. James has been excellent twice and subpar twice in series.3. Play like the No. 1 seed. The Cavs have twice come out playing defensive and passive, like an underdog hoping for an upset.-- Brian Windhorst

CAVALIERS VS. CELTICS, GAME 5Tipoff: Tuesday, 8 p.m. at The Q.TV/radio: TNT; WTAM AM/1100.Notable: Best-of-seven Eastern semifinals are tied at 2-2, with each team winning once on the road. ... Cavs have won 13 of their last 15 postseason home games and are 26-8 at The Q in the postseason since 2006. ... After their first two postseason losses, Cavs bounced back with 23-point victory at Chicago and 29-point victory at Boston. -- Mary Schmitt Boyer

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The line on the Cavaliers' practice plan Monday was labeled as a film session, but that wasn't totally accurate. It was a Rajon Rondo highlight package.

As the Cavs prepared for the conference semifinal series against the Celtics, which they are currently tied, 2-2, heading into Tuesday's Game 5, they were certainly aware of Rondo's abilities. But as Boston's fourth-leading scorer, he was only a part of their game planning, as they focused on three potential Hall of Famers on the roster.

Until now, that is. Those 29-point, 18-rebound, 13-assist performances will do that to opponents.

Now Rondo has the Cavs' full attention.

"We always knew he was a heck of a player," Zydrunas Ilgauskas said Monday. "We were so worried about the 'big three' that to some degree we underestimated him. That was our biggest mistake."

The Cavs are going to try to rectify that Tuesday. Key word there being "try."

Rondo is leading the Celtics in scoring (21.8), rebounding (8.3) and assists (13.0) through the first four games. During the regular season, Rondo averaged 14 points and 10 assists against the Cavs. Clearly what was tried over the first four games hasn't been working too well.

"I think we imagined Rondo would [match his regular-season numbers] against us ... [but] we thought the team defensively would do a better job on him and we haven't," Cavs coach Mike Brown said. "You have to give him credit. He's a heck of a player and he's gone out and earned what he's gotten."

The Cavs' planned countermeasures are secret, for the moment. But there certain adjustments that may be able to slow Rondo down.

Here's a sketch:

• 1. Use LeBron.

Following Sunday's Game 4 loss in Boston, LeBron James expressed an interest in guarding Rondo. As a first team All-NBA defender, it certainly would be strength-on-strength -- even if it would still be a mismatch because James is a small forward and Rondo is a point guard.

"It's something that maybe we should explore, because Rondo has definitely dominated the series," James said Sunday. He didn't talk to the media on Monday.

"If the coaching staff wants me to do it, I would do it."

It sounds like James wants to do it and Brown said Monday that it would likely be part of the game plan. But it not be the extent of it.

In Game 4, Anthony Parker played for 42 minutes and spent almost all of them guarding Rondo, who played 47 minutes. By the end of the game, Parker was clearly gassed and it contributed to Rondo's strong finish. The Cavs will likely give Parker some support to reduce his minutes on Rondo.

But do not expect James to guard Rondo exclusively; that job will still probably belong to Parker. James is likely to spell Parker and perhaps pick up Rondo in the fourth quarter if the game is close.

"We're going to give LeBron an opportunity," Brown said. "We have to keep making sure we're putting different bodies on him and keep trying to make adjustments."

The reason James might be effective is because he is the Cavs' best help defender and their best closing shot blocker. Because of his size and leaping ability, he may be able to recover quicker when Rondo gets free off screens. Also, Rondo tends to be very aware of where James is on the floor.

After James blocked several of his shots from behind over the years, Rondo has routinely broken off drives during the series when he knows James is on his tail. One of the best plays Rondo made Sunday was a behind-the-back pass on a fast break when he was concerned James might block his shot attempt.

"He's always chasing me down," Rondo said. "He's had a lot of top-10 plays and blocks on my layups so I knew that situation."

Despite that, Rondo said he wasn't worried about seeing James.

Joshua Gunter / The Plain DealerThe accepted defensive strategy against Rajon Rondo is to guard against the passing lanes and allow him to shoot jumpers. That hasn't been a winning philosophy for much of this series, as Delonte West experienced in the second quarter of Sunday's Game 4."I don't really care who's guarding me, I gotta run the offense and in our system," Rondo said. "If we get easy looks in transition, it doesn't matter who's guarding me."

• 2. Stop the rebound running.

One of the biggest factors that came out of the film study was how easy it was for Rondo to get his 18 rebounds. As hard as it may be to believe, Rondo didn't even jump for the vast majority of them.

There were 30 missed 3-pointers on Sunday, 17 by the Cavs and 13 by the Celtics. That meant literally dozens of long rebounds and Rondo was an expert at picking them off. Usually he would stand near the foul line and read how the ball came off the rim and pick it off when it bounced over the heads of the big men near the basket.

Rondo got 14 defensive rebounds and barely had to leave his feet because he just ran to where they were going to land without any Cav usually boxing him out. That meant 14 jump starts to a fast break, which created 23 points for the Celtics in their 10-point win.

The Cavs were not boxing him out because they were already retreating on defense. But that often backfired because the rebound allowed Rondo to run anyway and he still often beat the Cavs back or was able to create for teammates in transition.

Five of Rondo's nine baskets and five of his 13 assists came in transition.

So the Cavs will likely be much more aware of Rondo's positioning after shots, especially on long jumpers. Rondo's defender may be assigned to box him out at all times while other players, such as the guard assigned to Ray Allen, would be assigned to get back to protect against the fast break.

• 3. More ball pressure.

The basic strategy on Rondo for years is to give him space when he's got the ball, both to defend against his driving skills and to encourage jump shots. This is what most NBA teams do with him.

However, review of the film reveals this hasn't been effective. Rondo has been attacking even more than usual and using the space afforded him to get up a head of steam. Often, he'll have two or three dribbles in a drive before he even gets to his defender. It puts the Cavs defenders on their heels, including the big men who are providing support.

It is the same concept that allowed the Cavs to have some success with full-court pressure on Rondo in Game 3. The Cavs benefited from 60-percent shooting and fewer turnovers, allowing them to set up defensively. But with fewer baskets and 17 turnovers in Game 4, Rondo had a field day.

Look for the Cavs to stay closer to Rondo in halfcourt offense, mixing it up more with giving him space. It could well resemble mixing up bump-and-run coverage and cushion coverage by a cornerback in football.

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